History Is the American junkyard Doomed?

Interesting article from Hemmings: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/02/20/open-diff-is-the-american-junkyard-doomed/?refer=news Any MOPAR guys looking for a project check out the $1600 '53 Plymouth on the sidebar looks like a steal for the price.

 

yes

 

I would say yes..
here in Missoula, we have 2 direct to the crusher yards, no chance , no salvage on anything older than 1995.
there was big fanfare about the county giving out a wrecking yard license- the first in years- to a place a few years back, but that turned out to be a trick, they only needed the license to store the cars before they crush them, no parts.
there is a big yard 20 miles north of town, but the guy is in his mid 60's, and will be "cashing in" soon, that said I think he brought in 8 cars total last year, only one a classic, he cannot compete with the prices that the scrappers are paying.
I recently went to an old yard in anaconda (90 minutes away) -they had a few old cars, 50 or so,but it was mainly newer stuff- the owner is in a home, and his son tried to make a go of it for about a year, but ultimately decided to crush out.

 

Since I am at work and it won't let me look at that, (funny I can get here though) I'd say junkyards are here for a long time. I worked at one once, they make money on almost everything on the car, we even sucked out the gas from tanks and ran it in the yard trucks. To many poor people (like me) forced to keep their older cars running longer will keep junk yards around for years, in my opinion.

 

I would say that they are on the way out. I see more closing by me and no new ones opening. Those who did sell parts, some have stopped that and are just breaking the cars up. This and that goes to the rebuilders, the rest out to the steel mills or onto frieghters.

There is considerable environmental concerns, some of the older ones had to have liners installed and they have a constant line of agencies looking at their ground water and to see how they store batteries, etc.

 

It's just a matter of time before they're all gone. Environmental concerns and increased regulations for the actual businesses , rising property taxes, and the reluctance of willing buyers. You'll probably still find small caches here and there from hoarders and farmers who never bothered to have them hauled away as well as the lone 'abandoned' cars, but the really big collections are going fast.

But as the US becomes more integrated into a 'world economy', the ability to leave wealth/resouces laying around is going away. Go outside the US/Canada and wrecking yards are rare; the raw materials represented by a dead car are becoming too valuable to simply let lay anymore.

 

Hell, I won't be here much longer

 

Judging from how many we have around here I'd say the salvage biz is good in these parts. Probably due to the economy and our low average income base. Unfortunately none of them carry classics, most have a 10 or 20 year cut off. I worked as a buyer for one of the larger yards here several years ago, they didn't want me buying anything over 10 years old. Their logic was anything older would total if it was wrecked, major mechanical would out value the car and what few parts they could sell on an older vehicle wasn't worth taking up ground space. The only time I could buy something old is if it was half the cost of the current crusher weight and they would put it directly in the crusher, needless to say I wouldn't buy them

 

I think what is happening is that junk yards are evolving into on line used part suppliers. The local junk yard has disappeared from around here. There is still a Pick a part in San Jose and Hayward. But nothing I know of in this county.

 

We had one huge place that went out maybe 15 years back, Cello Scrap in Deer Park, NY. It was the last in line of a big block of 'yards. They took cars and industrial scrap too. We were able to buy there as well and they had shopping carts for us to use. When you're in the midst of a stock car build the place was a gold mine.

 

Jeff,the junk yards you and I grew up with sadly are a thing of the past,they have been replaced with the salvage yard.

Gone are the days when you could roam freely through a junk yard and look for a particular part that you needed for your project,today with salvage yards they are worried about someone taking a part or the risk of a law suit if anyone gets hurt while on the premises. HRP

 

These places are gone where you could walk around and browse. But now you can call up or stop in and they know if they have what you need in a few minutes.

 

Yes but they're being replaced by something probably better though not as thrilling. Online professional dismantlers with inventory computers. That goes for modern cars as well as those specializing in classics. The parts may be more expensive but you can buy them from your armchair. Don't forget time rolls on and we can't expect to find 54 Chevies in junkyards when they're 100 years old.
But the days of throwing whole cars in the crusher are also numbered, thank God. There are to many valuable materials in a car to just turn it all into junk steel. Some manufacturers are already running reverse assembly plants to dismantle used cars. (Some cars being only a few years old!) This will eventually become the norm. Henry Ford did it with old model Ts, returning them to the Rouge for recycling.

 

It all goes back to Lady Bird Johnson and her beautify America campaign

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Lady Bird, how I hate her.

The modern salvage yard will be a you-pick or hybrid where they also pull and sell engines and transmissions and things and sell them. That will last for as long as cars can be repaired with used parts. The yard full of 50+ year old cars that have been there for 30+ years is going to slowly dissapear in the next 10-20 years.

 

I guess there are States where junkyards are still alive and well, but not here in SW Florida, where I live. I know of 4 that used to be great to go to and roam around in and all are gone. The EPA and other restrictions made it impossible for them to stay in business.

But the funny part is, there is one junkyard that is in the worst part of town and it is still going, and that place is an environmental disaster. The oil on the ground is so thick it is like mud and the cars are just heaped on top of each other, or blocked in so you can't get access to them to get parts off. Not sure how they survive or escape the laws, but they do.

I really miss the junkyards of old, and I knew things were changing when I called one and when I said the work "junkyard" the guy took offense and said "We are an AUTO RECYCLER, not a junkyard !" Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuse me !!!

Don

 

The old time yards are gone here too.

Hey, when we're gone, not many will miss them.

But I'm sure missing the '47 Plymouth parts car I offered my favorite yard $100 for---only to find out he crushed it for maybe $10 scrap a couple months later.

I've met some owners who were pretty savy businessmen, but I've mostly met guys for whom organization and common courtesy were foreign concepts. All those yards are gone & only my favorite, plus "Pick-a-Part", & the like remain.

 

Environmental concerns will quite likely help PRESERVE some for a while. The land junkyards occupy is economically unusable if the yard was there for many years, because cleanup of deeply soaked soil means very deep removal and replacement. The alternatives come down to letting the yard continue as a taxpaying business or building a fence and forgetting about that land.
Yards now are under fairly tight regs about draining cars and things like that, but the regs cannot begin to approach the cumulated damage from long ago.
Open access has ended around here...quite possibly a good thing for the general public, from the idiotic risks I've seen like 4 people working HARD under a car held up at one corner by a fully extended bumper jack! Too many people are too dumb to be turned loose...probably the pick-a-part approach with cars on blocks and vigilant employees is the only way not subject to catastrphic lawsuits from the heirs of idiots.
Where land is valuable...like here...the cars reflect what is generally on the road, meaning virtually no useful parts donors for rods. Anything good is in the general scrap pile...but I can't get at that anymore!

 

When was this, like 1985? $100 might buy a third of the price of it scrap these days. Once crushed it's actually worth more, too, as it's processed.

 

Live in Wichita KS and the yards are closing all over around here. Getting hard to find one, and when you do, their prices are higher than I can buy new! Only good for items that can't be found through any other source.

 

I hope they are staying around!

 

Yeah...1989 or 1990 I think. they actually paid more than that, but after the expenses of transport, loading, crushing, etc, that's probably all they cleared in profit.

The guy knew he'd screwed up when I found out and asked him if he remebered the $100. He did too, as I'd bought a lot of odd parts from him for the P15, Edsel, and Caddy back then.

There's nothing much visible there now, older than 1980.

(Edit: on the east coast, prices were probably different. I'm not sure scrap brought as much out here.)

 

Enjoy them while you can. Take the 18yr old and up.
Someday they'll be able to say," I went to a junk yard once".

 

I remember living in Missoula and having the junkyard of dreams, just a section of old cars and the ability to get custom parts, now it is all crushed.

 

All the good yards are gone but still have one locally that has old stuff,in a way I do like the modern you pull yards since the ground is level and all of the cars are off the ground. I will always love the adventure of getting parts from the old yards but for parts for the daily drivers I do like the modern yards since I can get in and out quickly.

 

Interesting topic. I would say it is less about the junkyard and more about the person running it. Times change, as will the way junkyards will need to be operated. A younger perspective on the business will be a warm welcome, I'm sure.

 

Do you ever think we're just running out of old junk? You do know 40 Fords haven't been made for 75 years?

 

around here there are a few yards still. Pick n pull is one of the biggies, and they buy whatever is cheap at the auction or in a back yard. While not full of classics, they show up sporadically, finned, muscle era, projects, or just towed junk. They sit 30 days, and get crushed for more inventory. mostly 20 -30 year old cars, just like when when I started going 20 years ago.

 

The "junk" yard ran by a drunk sitting on an old car seat has been replaced by a business person maximizing his profit. There is no junk any more.


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I used to get a lot of parts from junkyards, but it's been a few years since I've been in need of anything that they had. Last trip to a yard, was to look for a car to build, but they didn't have anything desirable.

They're going away, faster in some places, slower in others. The world is changing. Oh well...it was fun while it lasted. I learned a lot working in a yard 35 years ago